Work in progress. As the nights grow longer I have a bit of time to paint and listen to podcasts or, even better, though slightly less productive, paint and drink wine with friends. I started this one last year and am going to try to finish it by Solstice..

The Sustainable Overlook Garden Tour is this Saturday, June 6th from 10 am to 3 pm. Start at Trillium Charter School (open from 10-11 am) or one of the four garden sites nearby (open from 10 am to 3 pm, map available here soon.) Get ready to be inspired by pesticide-free gardens that with showcase edible landscaping, mason bees, chicken keeping, an outdoor kitchen, a permaculture homestead, backyard habitats and much more!

See Trillium Charter School’s organic roof top garden where outdoor education and food production happen.

Mason Bee demos and learn how you can encourage pollinators in your yard

Seed and Plant Swap as part of the Village Building Convergence at the Attunement Center, a permaculture homestead site

Visit a Certified Backyard Habitat and learn how each of our yards or balconies can offer valuable habitat

Create an abundant food forest in your yard or just add a few fun fruit and berry bushes to your landscape. Sustainable Overlook is holding a pre-order plant sale with pick-up at a natural gardening info fair. Order from a selection of hardy fruit trees, berry bushes and fruiting vines, plus veggie and herb starts and seeds. Offerings will include apples, persimmons, blueberries, rhubarb, kiwi and much more. All the plants are locally grown and are organic and/or Salmon Safe Certified. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Sustainable Overlook’s neighborhood outreach projects.

Order forms are available now. Pick up your plant order on Saturday, April 18th and check out Sustainable Overlook’s Spring Gardening Fair with natural gardening resources from Metro, co-sponsor North Portland Food Not Lawns, Mason bee info and more.

My neighborhood is holding its first Sustainability Summit to discuss issues of ecology, economy and equity at the local scale. We’re bringing neighbors and others together to share about current efforts and ask how we can collaborate more on sustainability and livability. There are fantastic speakers coming including some friends and folks whose work I really admire.

I will be moderating a panel on our local ecology with panelists from Neighbors for Clean Air, Backyard Habitat Certification Program and Friends of Overlook Bluff. I will talk a bit about Sustainable Overlook’s Pesticide Free Neighborhood project, then I’d like to draw connections between what regional organizations are doing to protect and restore our green spaces and ensure clean air and water, what local grassroots groups are doing and what we can do as individuals on a daily basis that makes a difference.

One goal of the day will be to become aware of what initiatives are underway, how we can work together more synergistically and where they may be gaps to address.

There will be some ‘Transition Initiative’ components to the day, such as sticky-note brainstorming to kick off the networking session and ‘open space’ style group discussion.

I’m excited to share, listen and learn – when we work together, things get better. Everyone is welcome, whether you live in North Portland or want to bring back inspiration to your neighborhood elsewhere. Join us!

If you are in Southern Oregon or would like an adventure, here are upcoming offerings from the Siskiyou Permaculture Institute. If you can’t make the trip, you can hear some of Hazel’s stories on the Siskiyou Permaculture website.

Every year Tom Ward aka Tomi Hazel gives a free talk for the community, sharing stories and visions of the future of our bioregion. These inspiring events have been cherished by many in our community. The annual storytelling is coming up next Saturday. Please spread the word.

Acorn Woman is the guardian spirit of the White Oak tree, an ecologically key species of the forest in our region, especially in the oak pine savannah. The White Oak has a high degree of connectivity in ecosystems, which is called implication, a poetic word in the English language with lots of different implications. White Oak, Acorn Woman, the Triple Goddess, the White Goddess, Diana the huntress, all of these are associated with the white oak in different cultures, in different places, showing us the central ecological importance of the White Oak tree. Because she’s such a strong woman, she has many consorts, the spirit animal plant guild of the White Oak. We;re going to meet her friends and talk about their relationships to her and to each other, and learn about our relationships to this place.

We also hope you will join us for one of our courses coming up in early 2015. Your early registration is greatly appreciated.

This course will explore reconnecting with forests through ecological knowledge, use of hand tools and woodscrafts, seasonal festivals, work cycles, stories and stewardship covenants. Learn ecologial assessment, carbon sequestration methods, restoration forestry and the crafts and products that can be enjoyed while re-establishing our heart space and wonder in the woods. Please register early. Course fee before January 2, 2015 is $475. Open to all with a working knowledge of permaculture. Lots of information, reviews and logistics can be found on the Siskiyou Permaculture website.

This is the permaculture certificate course offered around the world with lots of local flavor included. Southern Oregon is lucky to have lead instructor Tom Ward, a senior permaculturist with decades of experience, teaching along with Melanie Mindlin and Karen Taylor plus special guests. The course is held at the Jackson Wellsprings spacious classroom every other weekend ending May 3rd. Still for the low price of $675, early registration by January 21st only $600. Please register early. Lots of information on the course can be seen at siskiyoupermaculture.com.

Visiting Permaculture teacher and consultant Tom Ward/Tomi Hazel’s house was a highlight of the Optical Surveying course. Here I’m checking out the living roof, planted with Siskiyou native succulents. These stonecrop (Sedum) species are those evolved alongside native pollinators and birds and are fire resistant. Grasses are excluded from this living roof for safety in this region where periodic fire is a natural part of the ecology.